Opposition youth activists held brief protest rallies outside Rustavi 2 TV, Mze TV and the Georgian Public Broadcaster, calling on them to express solidarity with Imedi TV, which was shut down by the authorities on November 7.

Meanwhile, a group of journalists from four provincial newspapers - Imedi (Hope), Spektri (Spectrum), Kakhetis Khma (Voice of Kakheti) and Progresi (Progress) - rallied on November 22 in Gurjaani, a town in the Kakheti region, to protest against the closure of Imedi TV, according to the Tbilisi-based Human Rights Centre.

In a separate development, journalists from Tbilisi-based media outlets, including television stations, signed a petition on November 22, calling for the immediate resumption of Imedi TV broadcasts.

“This is very important for us and I want to thank all the media outlets who have joined this petition,” Bidzina Baratashvili, managing director of the Imedi TV, said.